Brendan Rodgers swipes at Arsenal for lacking class in Luis Suarez transfer chase
Brendan Rodgers swipes at Arsenal for lacking class in Luis Suarez transfer chase
The Gunners' £40,000,001 bid disappointed Anfield boss who reckons Arsene Wenger's mob have let themselves down this summer
Brendan Rodgers of Liverpool
Thananuwat Srirasant
Brendan Rodgers has taken a swipe at Arsenal over their pursuit of Luis Suarez by telling them: I thought you
had more class than that. The Liverpool manager spoke with a blunt authority over the fate of his controversial striker following Steven Gerrard’s Anfield testimonial game at weekend, by reiterating once more he is not for sale.
Rodgers
also
suggested with more than a hint of exasperation that surely there will
become a point when the London club take the message that Suarez is
not for sale, and it was then he delivered his devastating verdict on
their conduct.
“I have to admit I was surprised by their bid of
£40m and £1... I always associated Arsenal as a club with class,” he
said with cutting incision.
“There
may be playing a game there, but we will just move on and do our own work, and the message is constant: we do not want to sell.
“I
think
there will become a point when they will understand that. They have an
interest and put that interest in with two bids that is nowhere near
where what Luis would be worth. That is within their right, there is a
market for players, but our message is constant.” Arsene Wenger's no oil painting
Reuters
Suarez
- surprisingly to some outsiders - was given a hero’s welcome by the
Anfield faithful when he emerged as a second half substitute during the
impressive 2-0 victory over Olympiakos in Gerrard’s charity match. Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson celebrate the second goal during the Steven Gerrard Testimonial against Olympiacos
Andrew Powell
Yet
his manager insisted afterwards he always expected the fans to show
their love for the South American, because they - like him - are growing
increasingly confident he will remain at Liverpool for at least another
season.
Despite almost daily suggestions over the past three weeks
he is about to submit a transfer request or seek arbitration over the
details of his contract, Suarez so far has declined to do so and Rodgers
suggested that perhaps Arsenal don’t quite understand the determination
of the Reds’ owners to hold onto their prize asset.
“As
time goes on I am gaining more confidence that he will stay - we are in
total control of the situation and that is how it will remain,” he explained.
“The owners have been brilliant. Maybe if it was another club where they needed the money it could be a different story.
“They
have
been first class through the whole process and that fills me with
confidence that they are in no hurry to sell - they understand that they
are trying to build. There has been lots of talk but the board have been
very strong.
“Look, there is always a timeline where you would
never sell...and we are at that stage now because we’re so close to the
beginning of the season. We
are focused on Luis being here, getting in a couple more and ready to be
challenging at the top of the table.”
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John Powell
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Liverpool v Olympiacos Steven Gerrard Testimonial
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Liverpool
were hugely impressive in a testimonial game that had a serious edge as
the Reds hone their final preparations for the new season, with new boy
Iago Aspas already gelling nicely with young stars Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling.
Joe
Allen too, looked stronger and more direct at the front of the
midfield,
even if he did miss a couple of decent chances before, while Gerrard was
at his imperious best in controlling the centre of the field, allowing
substitute Jordan Henderson to grab a second after a classy build up.
It
leaves Rodgers confident his side can move forward this season, and
with the £21.8m capture of Brazilian international forward Diego Costa
edging closer, he
explained now is not the time to sell Suarez.
“We
understand that next summer it could be different with Luis. A player
with two years on his contract is totally different,” he admitted.
“But
right
now Luis has got three years left and we are trying to bring in players
to be around him so we can sustain a challenge this year and see
where we can end up.”
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